Page 80 of Power of the Mind
“Whoa. Wait. What the hell? You’re going without me? I thought we were a team.”
“We’re not.”
“I thought I was in charge. My case, remember?”
“Too dangerous.”
I scoffed. “I happen to like danger. It’s why I was drawn to detective work to begin with.”
“You’re not a detective.”
“It was a joke, Diem. Come on. Are you serious?”
“You’re not coming. This is illegal, and you could lose your job.”
“So could you.”
“Tallus.” My name came out on a growl through clenched teeth. Diem closed his eyes, chewed for a second on whatever else he was going to say, then, checking his tone, added, “We need a lookout. That’s just as important.”
Ipffed and crossed my arms. “Bullshit. You’re relegating me because you don’t trust me.”
“It’s not… Tallus…” Another growl. The bear was agitated, but I didn’t give a fuck.
“It’s not fair.”
“I’m not being an asshole for the sake of it. We need a lookout.”
“Then sit your miserable ass down and be a goddamn lookout.” I tugged my tie loose, pulled it over my head, and tossed it on the dash. I unbuttoned my cuffs and rolled them, shoving them to my elbows. “I’ve got this. My case, my rules, my risk. You wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for me, and I’m perfectly capable of doing the dirty work. Now give me your gloves.”
“You don’t—”
“Diem. Gloves. Now.”
He shed the gloves and passed them over with a snarl in his lip.
I snarled back and put them on. They were miles too big and would compromise my dexterity, but I pretended they weren’t.
“Okay.” I surveyed the street and tried to crack my knuckles to seem tougher. “Lockpicking kit? Where is it?”
“At home. The front door is alarmed. You can’t go through that way.”
“Oh.” I frowned at the building. “Back door?”
“Alarmed.”
My shoulders slumped. “How do I get in?”
“Window.”
“They aren’t alarmed?”
“Nope. Not all of them.”
“How do you know all this?”
“Because I don’t want to go to fucking jail, and I had a lot of time on my hands today, so I did some recon.”
“Oh. What about when I’m inside? Are there motion sensors?”